Disrespect

Obviously, terrorism and respect don't go hand-in-hand; you aren't showing respect if you're trying to control a group of people using threats and intimidation. The idea of disrespect as a main theme of terrorism is depicted in Things Fall Apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe about European imperialism in Africa (specifically Nigeria) in the early 20th century. One central idea demonstrated by the novel is how a lack of respect for others can lead them to perform acts of terrorism; the European colonists intimidate and torture the Africans, simply because they have no respect for the Africans as a group of civilized people. Disrespect for a group of people can act as a reason to commit terrorist acts; it can downplay the extent of negativity of their violent actions.

Another example of blatant disrespect being linked to terrorist acts can be found in Iraq. Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq ni the late 20th century, used his people as toys, treating them as if they were not human beings. He would have them tortured, shot, or murdered at will; e would even use them as to test weapons. These acts of pure evil were committed by Hussein and his army out of lack of respect of other people; he didn't have anything against them, and he didn't need to teach them a lesson. His own disrespect led him to kill thousands of citizens of his country simply because he was disrespectful of others.